Willy Loman - A Tragic Hero

747 Words2 Pages

In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the author conveys the reader about how a person lives his life when he or she cannot live the “American Dream.” Willy Loman, the main character in the play is a confused and tragic character. He is a man who is struggling to hold onto what morality he has left in a changing society that no longer values the ideals he grew up to believe in. Even though the society he lives in can be blamed for much of his misfortune, he must also be the blame for his bad judgment, disloyalty and his foolish pride.

Willy Loman believes in the “American Dream,” which is the belief that anyone can be lifted from humble beginnings to greatness. His belief on this idea is that a man can reach success by selling his charm, and to be well-liked, which is the most important advantage a man can have. He made a living at this for 30 years, but as he gets to the last stage of his life, people have stopped smiling back and he can no longer sell the firm’s goods to support himself. His desire was to work hard and to be a member of the firm; and if he cannot succeed, that he should be well-liked and be able to sell until his death.

Willy’s main fault is his foolish pride, this is what makes him a tragic hero. There are many parts to his personality that contributes in the condition he and his family are in during the play. His nurturing of the Happy and Biff is one major issue, he raised them with the idea that if one is well-liked, he does not need to worry about qualifications. He also believed that if his boys were popular they would come out on top. Unfortunately, he does not realize that the only way a person can get rich is through work or through luck and good timing. Happy and Biff grew up to believe in all th...

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...s the event because he feels that is the reason for Biff being unsuccessful.

In the end, Willy realizes that his career is gone and foolishly believes that he cannot work again. Because of what he believes is the best interest of the family, he decides to commit suicide, not considering that his family loves him, but looks at what is the best business move. He also believes that him committing suicide will give his family a chance to financially recover lost dignity.

Willy is a character of many faces that that the author has portrayed a deep problem with sociological and psychological causes by using disturbing reality. At many times and places Willy might have been successful and kept his pride, but when he grew older, the society’s values changed and he was left stranded. His foolish pride, bad judgement and his disloyalty are all causes for his tragic end.

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